The present invention relates to automatic ammunition handling at a gun with feeding of ammunition in synchronism with the rate of fire from a compartmented magazine on the elevating mass of the gun. The ammunition compartments in the magazine are then replenished from an ammunition compartment located below via one or several hoists.
For heavy guns, for instance for naval use, it is desirable to have an ammunition handling system which is as automatic as possible. At the same time as the requirements for a high state of preparedness and capability of essentially continuous firing have increased, desires have also been expressed to reduce gun crew personnel requirements as much as possible. For guns with unmanned turret parts it is easier to provide complete protection for the crew during battle conditions. Moreover there will be fewer risks involved for personnel due to toxic powder gasses that can be formed in the turret part. A further essential advantage is that an unmanned turret part can be given smaller dimensions. In previously known automatic ammunition handling systems of the type used for heavy naval guns, the ammunition is transported from the ammunition compartment to the gun in synchronism with the rate of fire. However, this mode of operation places severe design requirements on the hoists. Rounds which are transported up from the ammunition compartment to the traversable portion of the gun with the aid of a hoist must be conveyed with the longitudinal axis of the round parallel to the traversing axis of the gun. This, however, requires that the speed of the hoist be high, since between two consecutive firings, the rounds must be hoisted a longer distance than the length of a complete round of ammunition. If ammunition transport in synchronism with the rate of fire is to be used, the rounds preferably should be transported with their direction of movement at right angles to their longitudinal axes to reduce transport time. If the rounds are moved in this manner, however, it becomes rather difficult to transfer the ammunition from the ammunition compartment or other fixed portion of the gun to its traversable portion.